Slicing machine



March 30, 1937.

E. A. REUSSENZEHN SLICING MACHINE Filed April 20, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR March 30, 1937. E. A. REUSSENZEHN SLICING MACHINE Filed April 20, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 v INVENTOR Md ATTORN E March 30, 1937. REUSSENZEHN 2,075,545

' SLICING MACHINE Filed April 20. 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIGS. FIG 7 v 2 C I 3: fa

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ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 30, 1937 UNITED STATES SLICING MACHINE Ernest A. Reussenzehn, Dayton, Ohio, assignor,

by mesne assignments, to .The Hobart Manufacturing Company, Troy, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application April 20, 1933, Serial No. 666,965

8 Claims.

This invention relates to slicing machines in general.

The primary objects of the invention are to improve the operation of slicing machines by making them easier to operate, secure greater quality of work, and promote more sanitary conditions both in the machine itself and the immediate surroundings.

An object is to provide mechanism which prevents excessive friction, undesirable cutting and scarring of the material being sliced and the scattering broadcast of scraps and grease, all of which have been found to be caused by the drag of the knife on said material during the idle or non-cutting stroke of the carriage holding the material to be sliced.

Another object is to provide a novel means for use with the usual clamps to permit more securely holding the material to be sliced or prevent marking or perforating such material.

A more specific object is to provide simple and reliable mechanism to withdraw the material to be sliced from contact with the knife during the idle or non-cutting stroke of the carriage relative to the knife.

Various other objects, features, or advantages of the invention will be pointed out hereinafter in the description and claims or will be apparent after a study of said specification, the claims, and/or the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is an elevation of the right-hand side of the machine, some parts being shown in vertical section.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section of certain parts appearing in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a rear View of the carriage with parts broken away and in section.

Fig. 3a, is a large scale detail view of certain parts appearing in Fig. 3.

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the right hand side of the carriage as it appears when detached from the machine.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the clamp adapter shown in Fig. 3.

Figs. 6 and '7 are front and side elevations, respectively, of a clamp provided with modified adapting means for use in slicing soft, easily marked materials such as cheese, the clamp being partly broken away to save space.

Figs. 8 and 9 are views similar to Figs. 6 and 7 and illustrate another modification of the adapting means.

As a matter of convenience the invention will be illustrated and described as embodied in a (cine-102) well known form of slicing machine commonly known in the art as the Dayton. Since the general details of construction and operation of the machines are now well known to those skilled in the art, only a few of the most important parts and their operation will be mentioned herein.

1 The base is designated ID in Fig. 1 and supports the usual rotary knife II, the driving motor (not shown), the adjustable gauge plate 'l2,'and the rail [3 on which is slidably mounted the frame l4 which comprises the carriage, the 10 rail I3 being spaced above the base .ID by pillars limounted on said base. The frame M has a lug l6 integral therewith which extends downwardly (Fig. 1) into cooperative relation with a guide bar ll, the guide bar being operative in the well known Dayton slicing machine to hold the frame l4 erect on the rail l3, this being necessary since the. rail is usually a round bar wholly supporting the carriage. By means of a suitable handle N3, the frame [4 can be reciprocated manually in a direction substantially parallel with the gauge plate l2 and the knife I I.

The frame M as usual has a pair of upstanding lugs or projections l9 (Fig. 3) rigidly supporting a bar or rail upon which is slidably mounted the clamp carrier 2|. The clamp carrier rigidly supports the lower clamp member 22 and also carries the vertically movable clamp support 23 to which is pivoted the upper clamp member 24. The latter is adapted to be locked in either of two positions, one being shown in Fig. l where the clamp members 22, 24 face each other and the other being shown in Fig. 3 with the member 24 facing the gauge plate l2. The a clamp support 23 may be moved vertically with respect to the carrier 2| by means of a handle 25 and locked in raised position by a spring operated catch 26 in a well known manner. A suitable catch 2! (Fig. 3) is also provided to lock the upper clamp member 24 in either of its alternate positions. These catches 26, 2! form nopart of the invention and need not be described in detail herein. They may be of any form desired. The usual pan 28 is provided for supporting the material to be sliced and rests on the frame M beneath the lower clamp member 22.

The material to be sliced is fed toward the gauge plate l2 and the knife H by means of a spring operated tape drum 29 mounted on the front side (the left side in Fig. 1) of the clamp carrierf2| and connected by a tape 30 to a fixed part of frame l4 such as the projection l9 nearest the gauge plate I2 (see Fig. 3), the effect of the tape drum 29 being to draw the clamp structure 2| and the clamp members 22, 24 toward the knife and gauge plate during slicing of material held by the clamp members.

When a given material is to be sliced it is placed between the clamp members 22, 24 or else impaled on the clamp member 24 and the required number of slices obtained by manually moving the frame l4 comprising the carriage to and fro by means of handle l8. It has been found in practice that the drag of the knife I I over the material on the carriage during the return or leftward stroke of the carriage (Fig. 1) has certain undesirable effects. Aside from the friction which results in retarding the carriage, making it slow and hard to operate, there also is produced scarring of the material or knife marks and scattering of small loose particles rubbed off by the knife. When the material being sliced rides off the knife, there is further and more distinctive cutting of the material resulting in uneven slices and ragged edges in the slices. When very soft greasy foods are being sliced, grease is scattered about freely producing a general untidy condition in the immediate neighborhood of the slicing machine, and in the machine itself. It will be seen that elimination of the drag of the knife on the return stroke will result in generally improved operating conditions, greater neatness, more uniform slices and less waste of the materials sliced. The present invention secures the last named benefits by providing means for withdrawing the material to be sliced from contact with the knife on the return or idle stroke of the carriage. The means for causing such operation will now be described in detail.

The handle I8 is not fixed to the frame l4 but is secured to one arm of a bell-crank 3| pivotally mounted on a lug 32 integral with said frame (see Fig. 4), the bell-crank having an extension 33 riveted or otherwise fastened thereto which extends rearwardly of the frame l4 (Fig. 3), or to the right in Figs. 1 and 4, into cooperative relation with certain parts mounted on the rear side of the frame l4. A pair of lugs 34, integral with the bell-crank 3| and on opposite sides of the pivot point of the bell-crank to the lug 32, serve to limit rocking movement of the bell-crank on its pivot. A coil spring 35, interposed between the bell-crank and the portion of the frame l4 above said bell-crank, normally holds the latter in the positions of Figs. 1 and 4 with the left hand lug 34 hearing against the frame l4. The coil spring 35 is of suflicient strength to overcome the force exerted by the spring which operates the tape drum '29 for a purpose which will be made clear presently.

The rear end of the extension 33 is slotted to embrace a stud 35 (Figs. 3 and 4) extending from a lug 31 extending at right angles to one end of a lever 38. The latter is mounted on a stud 39 which is received by a hole 40 bored in the rear side of the frame 14 (see Fig. 2), the stud being held in place in said hole by a set screw 4|. A shouldered screw stud 42 serves to pivotally mount the lever 38 on the stud 39 and also prevents other parts carried by the stud 39 from slipping off said stud. Loosely mounted on the stud 39 adjacent the frame M is a gear 43 to which is riveted or otherwise fastened a ratchet wheel 44. The gear 43 constantly meshes with a rack 45 secured to the clamp structure 2| so that both the gear 43 and ratchet 44 will be rotated whenever the clamp structure and clamp members move along the bar 20 under the influence of the tape drum 29 as described.

A cam 46 is keyed to the stud 39 on a shoulder formed in the end of said stud and is between the lever 38 and the ratchet wheel 44. The cam has a dwell 41 (see Fig. 3) adapted to control the action of a spring-pressed pawl 48 mounted on the end of lever 38 opposite the lug 31. The pawl 48 is adapted to engage the teeth of ratchet 44 at certain times and is wide enough to ride on the periphery of the cam 46.

Normally the superior force of the coil spring 35 holds the parts in the positions of Figs. 3 and 4 in which position the free end of pawl 48 is in the dwell 41 and also engages one of the teeth in ratchet wheel 44 thereby preventing the clamp carrier 2| from moving to the right (Fig. 3) toward the gauge plate and knife in response to the pull of the tape 30. In other words, normally the clamp structure is under the influence of the spring 35 but does not actually move in either direction due to the left hand lug 34 (Figs. 1 and 4) which cooperates with the frame I4 to limit clockwise movement (Fig. 4) of the lever 3|.

It will be assumed that the operator has placed the material to be sliced between the clamp members 22, 24, or has impaled said material on the member 24 with the latter turned to face the gauge plate and knife, and he is ready to commence slicing operations. The handle I8 is grasped and pushed toward the rear of the machine (to the right, Fig. 1) thereby rocking the bell crank 3| in a counterclockwise direction the slight amount permitted by the right-hand lug 34. This action will cause the extension 33 to be raised thereby rocking the lever 38 in a clockwise direction (Fig. 3) and the end of pawl 48 will be forced out of engagement with the teeth of ratchet 44 by moving out of the dwell 41 thereby releasing the ratchet wheel 44.

Since the clamp structure 2| is by the foregoing operation placed completely under the in-- fiuence of the spring operated tape drum 29, the latter will cause the clamp carrier 2| to move toward the gauge plate l2, thus forcing the material to be sliced firmly against said gauge plate.

Continued pressure on the handle |8 after these preliminary operations have taken place causes the frame l4 to move toward the rear of the machine (to the right, Fig. 1) for the cutting stroke. At the end of the cutting stroke the operator will find it necessary to exert a pull on the handle |8 to return the frame I4 to its initial position preparatory to cutting another slice and the combined action of spring 35 and such pull will cause the handle l8 to move forwardly (to the left, Fig. 1) a slight amount until the left-hand lug 34 again strikes the frame l4. This movement of the handle I8 causes the extension 33 to be depressed (Fig. 4), rocking the lever 38 counterclockwise (Fig. 3) and, as a result, the pawl 48 will move back to its initial position in the bottom of dwell 41 and during such movement the pawl will engage a tooth in ratchet wheel 44 and rotate the latter in a counterclockwise direction a slight extent (Fig. 3). It is plain that the fore going movement of the ratchet wheel 44 will cause the clamp carrier 2| to move also, and such movement of the clamp carrier will be just sufiicient to move the material on the frame |4 away from the knife in which position such material will remain throughout the return or idle stroke of the carriage back to its initial position.

It is clear that as a result of the mechanisms and operations described above, the material to be sliced will not be dragged over the rotating knife during idle strokes of the carriage but will be allowed to engage the gauge plate and knife only during the active or cutting stroke of the carriage. Thus, scarring of the material, ragged and uneven slices, and throwing of scraps and grease will be positively prevented and a more tidy condition of the slicing machine and its surroundings will be secured.

It has been found in practice that the spiked clamp member 24, which usually takes the form of a flat plate provided with sharp conical spikes, does not always hold material impaled thereon with suflicient security to permit such material to be drawn away from the knife. Especially is this true of materials which are so inelastic as to have little grip on the spikes.

The present invention has for one of its ob jects to provide a very simple means for holding materials more securely to permit them to be pulled away from the knife and such means conveniently takes the form of a one-piece adapter which may be slipped over the straight spikes on the clamp member 24 and is provided with hooklike curved spikes adapted to hook into and securely grip the material to be sliced.

Preferably the adapter comprises a single piece of stiff sheet metal 49 (Fig. 3) having flanges or lugs 50 formed therein which cooperate with opposite edges of the plate comprising clamp member 24 to hold the adapter securely against the spikes on said member. The adapter 49 is pierced in the process of forming it out of sheet metal to produce hook-like lugs or tongues 55 (Fig. 5) of which the ends are sharp and extend substan tially parallel with the surface of the plate forming said adapter.

The adapter 49 has sufficient resiliency to permit it to be securely held on the face of the clamp member 24 when slipped on the latter in a direction parallel with the flanged edges of said adapter. It should be remarked that the spikes in the member 24 engage the adapter at points between the holes produced in forming the lugs 5| and space said adapter from said member 24. It is obvious that the shape of the tongues or lugs is such as to securely grip anything impaled therein and will be efiective to hold the material to be sliced securely on the clamp member 24 when the latter is pulled away from the knife in the manner described.

In the process of forming the adapter 49 from a single piece of sheet metal, it is provided with a finger piece 52 produced by bending a portion of the sheet metal at an angle to the part which has the lugs 5|. The finger piece 52 makes the adapter easier to attach to or remove from the member 24.

In order to prevent dust, scraps, and grease from getting in or between the parts carried by the stud 39 or adjacent thereto, there is provided a cover 53 enclosing the gear 43, ratchet 44, and lever 38, which cover is secured to the frame M by means of screws 54. An opening 55 is provided to permit the gear 43 to mesh with rack 45 and another is provided at 56 where the left end of lever 38 is connected to the extension 33.

It has been found by experience that the spikes on the clamp members 22, 24, while necessary to enable certain materials to be securely gripped, are not so desirable in slicing materials, such as cheese, which are very soft and easily marred by the spikes.

The latter make the cheese unsightly and unattractive to customers of retail stores as, after a section of a cheese has been placed in the slicing machine a few times, the cheese becomes badly perforated by the spikes and unattractive in appearance.

In Figs. 6 and 7, there is illustrated a modification of the adapting means of Fig. 3 which modification permits slicing cheese and similar materials without perforating or otherwise marring them.

As will be clear from Fig. 1, the lower clamp member 22 moves over the surface of the pan 28 and is slightly spaced therefrom. This slight spacing permits an adapter to be attached to the lower clamp member 22 in a manner similar to the attachment of the adapter 49 to member 24. The upper clamp member 24 in this case is provided with an adapter 49a (Figs. 6 and 7) having opposite edges thereof provided with flanges 500. which coact with the shorter edges of the upper clamp member 24 to hold the adapter on the spiked side of said member. One of the long edges of the adapter 491]. has a straight flange 51 (Fig. 6) which engages the edge of said member 24 nearest the knife and gauge plate (the left edge, Fig. 6) and prevents the adapter from being slid off the member 24 during feeding movements of the clamp. The adapter 490. also has a number of ribs or ridges 58 formed in the sheet metal comprising said adapter which ribs extend parallel with the longitudinal axis of the adapter, that is, parallel with the flange 51.

The lower clamp member 22 is similarly provided with an adapter 492) having flanges 5% along the longer edges of the adapter which flanges coact with the edges of the lower clamp member 22 which are parallel with the gauge plate to hold the adapter 49b on the spiked side of the latter. The adapter 4%, like the adapter 49a, is provided with ribs or ridges 58a parallel with the flanges 50b and the ribs 58 of adapter 490,. It is quite clear that any material placed between the clamp members 22, 24 while the adapters 49a, 49b are in place will be securely gripped by the clamp but, since the spikes are protected by said adapters, no appreciable marking or marring of such material will take place. Thus the material may be repeatedly placed between and removed from the clamp members 22, 24 without being so perforated by the spikes as to be rendered less attractive in appearance.

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate a slightly modified arrangement which may be preferred in some cases, wherein the adapter 490 for the clamp member 24 is substantially the same as the adapter 4% except that no ribs are provided in the adapter 490 and the latter has a smooth surface. The lower clamp member 22 is rendered ineffective in this case by being covered with a plate 49d having a straight flange 500 at its left edge (Fig. 8) which straight flange merely rests on the edge nearest the gauge plate and is also provided with a flange 59d so shaped as to engage both the top and right edge of the pan 28. The flange 50d prevents the plate 49d from sliding toward the gauge plate and knife when the upper and lower clamp members 22, 24 are moved to the left to feed to the knife material resting on the plate 49 and frictionally fed on the surface of the plate 49d by the frictional engagement of member 490 with the material on plate 49d.

It will be seen that the present invention provides means which effectively prevent throwing of scraps and grease; scarring, perforating, or otherwise marring, of the materials sliced so as to render such materials unattractive; uneven slices; and excessive friction. Thus the quality of work, operation, and cleanliness of the machine are greatly improved.

While there has been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to the several modifications, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated and in their operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention therefore to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A slicing machine comprising a cutter, a gauge plate adjustable relative to the plane of the cutter to regulate the thickness of the slices, a carriage for the article to be sliced, said carriage being adapted to move to and fro relative to the cutter to first cut a slice and then return to an initial position, a clamp carrier mounted on the carriage for movement toward the gauge plate and cutter, a spring device for causing the last named movement, a manual operating member mounted in the carriage for effecting to and fro movement of the carriage relative to the cutter, and a ratchet and pawl device mounted in the carriage and having a connection to the clamp carrier to move the latter in a direction away from the knife and gauge plate, said device being operated by the manual member prior to the return of the carriage to its initial position.

2. A slicing machine of the character described which comprises a gauge plate, a knife, an article supporting the carriage reciprocably past the knife on a forward cutting stroke and a return non-cutting stroke, a handle attached to said carriage for manually reciprocating said carriage, said handle having movement relative to the carriage upon the manual reciprocation thereof, means on the carriage tending normally to feed an article thereon toward the knife, means controlled by said handle when the handle is operated to cause the return of the carriage on its non-cutting stroke to prevent operation of the feeding means, and providing for the release of said feeding means to feed the article into contact with the knife and gauge plate on the forward stroke of the carriage, and additional means associated with said handle for withdrawing the article from contact with the knife upon the return stroke of the carriage.

3. A slicing machine comprising an article carriage, a cutter, a gauge plate, means for feeding an article on the carriage against the gauge plate prior to each cutting operation, a ratchet and pawl device adapted to feed the carriage a predetermined amount counter to the feed effected. by the feeding means, a manual operable element mounted on the carriage for moving the carriage relative to the cutter to effect a cutting operation, and means interconnecting said element with said ratchet and pawl device provided for operating the latter upon application of manual pressure to said operating element for the return of the carriage.

determined amount counter to the feed effected by the feeding means, a manual operable element mounted on the carriage for moving the carriage relative to the cutter to effect a cutting operation, and spring actuated means interconnecting said operating element with said device provided for operating the latter upon release of said element.

5. A slicing machine of the character described comprising a knife, an article carrier reciprocable with respect to said knife and adapted to support an article in cutting relation with respect thereto, spring means for feeding the article to slicing position, a manually operable member for reciprocating said carriage and movably mounted thereon, pawl and ratchet means operable to oppose said feeding means to laterally space said article from said knife, and connections controlled by said member in its movement for operating said pawl and ratchet means.

6. A slicing machine of the character described comprising a knife, an article carrier reciprocable with respect to said knife and adapted to support an article in cutting relation with respect thereto, spring means for feeding the article to slicing position, a manually operable member for reciprocating said carriage and movably mounted thereon, pawl and ratchet means operable to oppose said feeding means to laterally space said article from said knife, connections controlled by said member in its movement for operating said pawl and ratchet means, and spring means for imparting said operating movement to said member.

'7. A slicing machine of the character described comprising a knife, a gauge plate, an article carrier reoiprocable with respect to said knife and adapted to support an article in cutting relation with said knife, means for normally urging the article transversely of the knife and plate prior to each active stroke of the carriage, manually operable means for reciprocating the carrier and mounted thereon for movement relative thereto, means operated by movement of the manually operable means relative to the carrier on the return stroke operation thereof for effecting lateral spacing between said article and said knife, and an adapter removably positioned on said urging means and having work engaging means for engaging the article to provide for withdrawal thereof away from the knife with the adapter.

8. A slicing machine of the character described comprising a knife, a gauge plate, an article carrier reciprocable with respect to said knife and adapted to support an article in cutting relation with said knife, means for normally urging the article transversely of the knife and plate prior to each active stroke of the carriage, manually operable means for reciprocating the carrier and mounted thereon for movement relative thereto, means operated by movement of the manually operable means relative to the carrier on the return stroke operation thereof for effecting lateral spacing between said article and said knife, and a vertical adapter plate removably positioned on said urging means and having work engaging means comprising a plurality of downturned spikes for engaging the article to provide for withdrawal thereof away from the knife with the adapter. A

- ERNEST A. REUSSENZEHN. 

